Dearborn, MI Short-Term Rentals: Taxes & Fees (2026)

Section 11-314(b)(14) sets "a non-refundable application fee of $750" as one of sixteen required items in every STR certificate application, alongside owner and local-agent identification, the sworn statements on residency, safety equipment, and insurance, consent to inspection under (b)(13), and signatures under (b)(15). No STR runs at all without a certificate: § 11-314(a) states "STRs are prohibited unless the property is registered with the city and has received a certificate of compliance pursuant to this division," and only one certificate issues per dwelling unit. The city will not issue or renew any certificate while the owner is delinquent on "real property taxes, utility rates, fees, charges, special assessments, or other amounts due to the city," regardless of whether the debt relates to the STR property, under § 11-314(e).

A certificate is valid three years under § 11-315(a) and must be renewed by filing a new application under § 11-315(c), meaning the $750 fee recurs at each renewal rather than annually. No separate short-term-rental occupancy or lodging tax appears anywhere in Division 1; the $750 application fee is the only STR-specific charge the ordinance imposes, distinct from the $10 to $25 tiered fees the Code sets for garage-sale licenses under Chapter 12.